When You Were Young

This morning, after Wendell chopped down one of the ancient trees to use in constructing new homes, Mr. Pendleton clamped the chains around Wendell's bandaged wrists and hauled him back to the lean-to. "With everyone at the meeting I can't have you running loose. When I get back, you're to haul that tree up the hill with the others."

"Yes sir," Wendell said. He counted off five minutes after the lean-to door shut to begin slipping his hands from the cuffs. He bit down on a sliver of wood taken from the tree to keep from screaming as the metal cut into his raw flesh.

The empty handcuffs crashed to the ground, leaving Wendell free at last. Mr. Pendleton had tied the lean-to door shut, but Wendell didn't need a door to escape. He banged against a section of wall with his shoulder until the flimsy sticks gave way to create a hole big enough for him. He slid through the opening to find Pendleton hadn't lied. The camp was deserted.

He broke into a run uphill, towards the forest. A pair of giggling girls emerged from the last of the tents as he came by. He slammed full-speed into the heavier of the two, bouncing off her and falling to the ground while she stumbled back a step.

A thin blonde girl squinted down at him. "I don't remember seeing him before. Oh, look at his wrists and clothes. Do you suppose he's one of the savages the reverend spoke of?"

"He doesn't look like a savage. He looks Irish," the darker, heavier girl said. "Maybe he's the sister of Fatty Gooddell's girl."

"Tell us, boy, where do you come from?"

"From England," he said. "I stowed away on the ship."

"A stowaway, how exciting," the blonde girl said.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" the heavy girl asked. "Everyone else is down on the beach for the meeting."

"Mr. Pendleton told me to fetch some firewood."

The girls looked at each other and adopted identical looks of a cat eyeing a juicy mouse. "I think we should go down and ask Mr. Pendleton about it," the blonde girl said.

"No, we can't," Wendell said.

"Why not?" the heavier girl asked.

"We can't disturb him during the meeting," Wendell said.

"He's up to no good, don't you think so, Phyllis?"

"Definitely. We best go straight to Mr. Pendleton."

The girls started towards the beach. Wendell scrambled to his feet and chased after them, catching them at the lean-to from which he'd escaped. He seized the blonde girl by the wrist, yanking her down to the ground. He put a hand over her mouth before she could scream. "You're not telling anyone," he said. Phyllis gaped at him, her face turning pale. "You, into there before I break her neck."